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Genus of lizards, family of Anguidae
Abronia is a
genus of
lizards in the
family
Anguidae that is native to
Mexico and
Central America . The majority of the
species are restricted to southern Mexico and
Guatemala , but members of the genus occur as far south as
Panama .
[2] They inhabit forests and woodlands, mostly in highlands, and some species are often associated with
bromeliads . They are typically
arboreal , but there are also
terrestrial Abronia species.
[3] Many species are considered
threatened due to
habitat loss , killing by locals who mistakenly believe they are venomous, or collection for the captive reptile trade (they are listed on
CITES , which restricts international trade).
[3] They feed on small animal prey, such as insects, and the females give birth to live young (rather than lay eggs).
[4]
These medium-sized to fairly large lizards (maximum length generally up to about 35 cm [14 in]) possess intriguing physical traits such as long
prehensile tails that can be regrown
if lost , keeled body
scales , and a helmet-like structure on the top of the head, which in some species, for example
A. lythrochila , has spikes towards the rear.
[5]
[6] Their colors also vary significantly depending on species, including green, bluish-green, brown, yellowish, whitish, gray and black, and some have contrasting mottled or banded patterns.
[5]
Species
Abronia montecristoi
Abronia taeniata
These species are recognized as being valid:
[2]
Abronia antauges (
Cope , 1866) – Mount Orizaba alligator lizard
Abronia anzuetoi
Campbell &
Frost , 1993 – Anzueto's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia aurita (
Cope , 1869) – Cope's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia bogerti
Tihen , 1954 – Bogert's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia campbelli
Brodie &
Savage , 1993 – Campbell's alligator lizard
Abronia chiszari
H.M. Smith &
R.B. Smith , 1981 – Chiszar's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia cuchumatanus
Solano-Zavaleta ,
Nieto-Montes de Oca & Campbell, 2016 – Cuchumatanes alligator lizard
Abronia cuetzpali Campbell, Solano-Zavaleta,
Flores-Villela ,
Caviedes-Solís & Frost, 2016
Abronia cunemica (
Clause et al., 2024) – Coapilla arboreal alligator lizard.
[7]
Abronia deppii (
Wiegmann , 1828) – Deppe's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia fimbriata (Cope, 1884)
Abronia frosti Campbell,
Sasa ,
Acevedo &
Mendelson , 1998 – Frost's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia fuscolabialis (Tihen, 1944) – Mount Zempoaltepec arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia gadovii (
Boulenger , 1913) – Gadow's alligator lizard
Abronia gaiophantasma Campbell & Frost, 1993 – brilliant arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia graminea (Cope, 1864) – Mexican alligator lizard
Abronia juarezi (
Karges &
J.W. Wright , 1987) – Sierra Juarez alligator lizard
Abronia leurolepis Campbell & Frost, 1993 – smoothback arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia lythrochila H.M. Smith &
Álvarez del Toro , 1963 – red-lipped arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia martindelcampoi Flores-Villela &
Sánchez-Herrera , 2003 – Martín del Campo's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia matudai (
Hartweg & Tihen, 1946) – Matuda's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia meledona Campbell & Brodie, 1999
Abronia mitchelli Campbell, 1982 – Mitchell's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia mixteca
Bogert &
Porter , 1967 – Mixtecan arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia montecristoi
Hidalgo , 1983 — Monte Cristo arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia monticola (Cope, 1878) — montane alligator lizard
Abronia moreletii (
Bocourt , 1871) –
Morelet's alligator lizard
Abronia morenica Clause,
Luna-Reyes & Nieto-Montes de Oca, 2020
[8] – Sierra Morena arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia oaxacae (
Günther , 1885) – Oaxacan arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia ochoterenai (
Martín del Campo , 1939) – Ochoterena's arboreal alligator lizard, Northern Chiapas arboreal alligator lizard,
Abronia ornelasi Campbell, 1984 – Ornelas's arboreal alligator lizard, Cerro Baul alligator lizard
Abronia ramirezi Campbell, 1994 – Ramirez's alligator lizard
Abronia reidi
Werler &
Shannon , 1961 – Reid's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia salvadorensis Hidalgo, 1983 — Salvador arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia smithi Campbell & Frost, 1993 — Smith's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia taeniata (Wiegmann, 1828) – banded arboreal alligator lizard, bromeliad arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia vasconcelosii (
Bocourt , 1871) — Bocourt's arboreal alligator lizard
Abronia viridiflava (Bocourt, 1873) — dwarf alligator lizard
Abronia zongolica
García-Vázquez , Clause,
Gutiérrez-Rodríguez ,
Cazares-Hernández &
de la Torre-Loranca , 2022
[9]
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Abronia .
^ "Abronia ". ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
^
a
b
Abronia . The Reptile Database. Consulted: 2012-04-06.
^
a
b García-Vázquez, U.M.; Clause, A.G.; Gutiérrez-Rodríguez, J.; Cazares-Hernández, E.; Ángel de la Torre-Loranca, M. (2022).
"A New Species of Abronia (Squamata: Anguidae) from the Sierra de Zongolica of Veracruz, Mexico" . Ichthyology & Herpetology . 110 (1): 33–49.
doi :
10.1643/h2021051 .
^ Cruz-Elizalde, R.; Villamar-Duque, T.E.; Ramírez-Bautista, A. (2021). "Sexual dimorphism in size and shape in the viviparous lizard Abronia taeniata (Squamata: Anguidae) in central Mexico". Acta Zoologica . 102 (2): 220–226.
doi :
10.1111/azo.12329 .
^
a
b
"Identification guide for dragons (Arboreal alligator lizards, Abronia spp.) regulated by CITES" (PDF) . CITES. 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2023 .
^
"Status of conservation, use, management of and trade in the species of the genus Abronia" (PDF) . CITES. Retrieved 8 June 2023 .
^
Elusive ‘alligator’-like creature found in treetops... Yahoo News. By Aspen Pflughoeft. January 5, 2024. Accessed January 7, 2024.
^
Clause, Adam G. ;
Luna-Reyes, Roberto ;
Nieto-Montes de Oca, Adrián (2020).
"A New Species of Abronia (Squamata: Anguidae) from a Protected Area in Chiapas, Mexico" . Herpetologica . 76 (3): 330.
doi :
10.1655/Herpetologica-D-19-00047 .
ISSN
0018-0831 .
S2CID
221564537 . (Abronia morenica , new species).
^
García-Vázquez, Uri Omar ; Clause, Adam G.;
Gutiérrez-Rodríguez, Jorge ;
Cazares-Hernández, Erasmo ;
de la Torre-Loranca, Miguel Ángel (2022).
"A New Species of Abronia (Squamata: Anguidae) from the Sierra de Zongolica of Veracruz, Mexico" . Ichthyology & Herpetology. 110 (1): 33-49. (Abronia zongolica , new species).